The tiki-themed bar in Hunter Street Mall is one of 10 rum bars from across the country in the running for the industry-nominated award that will be announced in Sydney on September 17.

The criteria for the award requires the bar to offer a broad selection of rum, highlight rum cocktails on their menu and employ staff who are knowledgable about the spirit. Blue Kahunas tick all the boxes, particularly the latter.

"I could sit and chat about rum all day. It's a passion," Blue Kahunas co-owner Prudence Farquhar laughs.

"We're very excited and very proud because we do really try to push rum, and quality rum, and try to educate about it. We are always holding events here which specifically focus on rum and different types of rum."

Other bars in the running for the award include Jacoby's Tiki Bar from Sydney, Rum Bar at Airlie Beach, and Flamingo's Tiki Bar in Cairns,along with a further six venues across NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia, and Victoria.

While gin and whiskey have had a spike in popularity in recent years, Farquhar thinks rum is the next in line to become 'fashionable' again.

"Whiskey went through a massive resurgence and became really popular, and gin wasn't too far behind to follow, but rum, for a long time has been given a bit of a bad rap," she says.

"People think, 'Ooh rum, no I don't like it'. People get a bit of a negative connotation. But rum is becoming an interesting category where people are learning a lot more about it these days.

"They [rum bars] are a lot more about premium quality rather than drinking the cheapest rum you can find."

Farquhar and her business partner, Byron Marzinotto, are both passionate advocates of the spirit. Last year, the former Central Coast-based couple took the steps toward creating a small bar with a focus on rum, after transforming an old newsagency into a colourful tiki bar.

Complete with cane furniture, a tropical-themed wall mural, and drinks served in whole pineapples with mini umbrellas, the pair have managed to create a little Caribbean getaway in the heart of Hunter Street Mall.

The Blue Kahunas drinks list includes classic rum concoctions such as The Zombie and their zesty version of a Mai Tai, but you can order just about any cocktail that tickles your fancy.

"Byron and I met working in a tiki bar restaurant [Mojito Joe's in Avoca]. We both fell in love with rum, but we also both liked how relaxed it was," Farquhar says.

"Rum can be a lot of fun. Whiskey and gin can be very serious sometimes, which is a great thing because they are great spirits, but rum leans to being a little bit more fun and relaxed.

"I think that's the best thing about tiki, you can walk in the door and there's no judgement. If you want to drink something the way you prefer to drink it, we'll serve it how you like."

The bar is stocked with about 60 rums from around the world, including Australian distillers such as Brix and Husk. As Farquhar explains, it is an exciting time for distilling in Australia, and she is deeply knowledgable about the spirits they use.

"Husk is making an agricole expression of rum that's very similar to an island in Martinique in the Caribbean. It's a French style of rum,so instead of making a classic rum, which is using sugar, they use fresh sugar cane juice," she explains.

"It's one of my favourite styles of rum. It's really glassy, it's herby, but it still has that sweetness of rum and all of the flavour profile."

Brix Distillery launched in Sydney last year.Blue Kahunas will host a special workshop this month with Brix that will offer tastings of their rum range and teach participants how to blend spiced rum.

"We are doing a workshop event based around their spiced rum, so it's learning how to spike your own rum at home," Farquhar says.

"There will be a drink upon arrival, you will get to taste all of the Brix range as well and then learn about the history of rum in Australia and then we will also learn how to blend spiced rum. It's a hands-on workshop."

The event will be held on July 27 and tickets cost $35.